Windsor Castle
Berkshire, England (2 castles)
Motte & Bailey / Stone / Shell Keep / Royal castle
Excellent remains
Only open at certain times
Originally constructed in the time of William the Conqueror. This motte and bailey castle with two baileys has seen a huge number of improvements over the centuries. The wooden keep being replaced by a stone shell keep. Extensive living quarters being built in both the upper and lower baileys. A magnificent chapel built by Edward IV. Plan to spend at least half a day at Windsor castle. Lots of see and if you are lucky the Royal family may be in residence. As this is a working castle some areas may be off limits at certain times so it's best to check before visiting.
Early Norman castles were built from wood, but it seems that at Windsor, because the base of the mound was so strong, a stone castle was used early in its development. The castle that William built consisted of a wooden shell keep built around the mound, and two baileys, one to the east of the mound, and one to the west. Arundel is an example of another castle that has two baileys. The western bailey at Windsor is lower than the eastern one.
Henry I made improvements to Windsor Castle so that it could be used for the first time as a royal residence. He held court there in 1110 and married his second wife Adeliza of Louvain in its chapel. During his reign the wooden keep on the motte was replaced by stone. Between 1173 and 1179 King Henry II spent time and money improving the keep again. The height of the keep was raised and the walls around the baileys were rebuilt.
During the reign of John, the castle was besieged twice, first in around 1193 when a minor siege occurred. In 1216 Prince Louis and a French army invaded the south of England. The French had been invited to England by rebels who were opposing King John's rule and were needed to help overthrow the King. Windsor castle along with Dover and Lincoln held out against the French, but Windsor was left badly damaged by the attack. After John died his son Henry III became king of England. Henry repaired the damage that had been inflicted during his father's reign.
King Edward III is famous for making Windsor Castle the home of the Order of the Garter and the Round Table. This order of knights was created in 1344 based on the legendary stories of King Arthur and revolved around great feasts and tournaments. A huge wooden circular building was constructed in the eastern bailey to celebrate the Order's creation. After the death of Edward in 1377 the castle remained unchanged for almost a hundred years.
In 1400 the castle again came under attack. This time from the enemies of King Henry IV. Henry had deposed Richard II and not everyone was happy with this. The attackers managed to enter the castle through a postern gate in January of 1400 while the King celebrated Christmas. But the King had been warned of the attack and escaped to London. The rebels were caught a few days later and killed.
Location
See Also
People
Related Information
Related Maps
Related Episodes
Norman Conquest (click here)
Edward II and Piers Gaveston (click here)
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (click here)
Conquest of Ireland (click here)
The First Barons' War (click here)
Edward III - The Hundred Years War (click here)
Explore the White Tower
Explore four floors of the keep at the Tower of London.
More Details >>
Medieval Town - Early Access
Explore the medieval town.
TimeRef Medieval Shield Designer
Design you own Medieval Shield.
Shield Designer >>
Medieval Village - Early Access
Explore the medieval village.
Medieval Abbey - Early Access
Explore the medieval abbey.
Medieval Theatre - Early Access
Explore the medieval theatre.
Timeline
1075
...
Construction of Windsor Castle started by William the Conqueror.
1110
King Henry I had improvements made at Windsor Castle, including a chapel, so that he could use the castle as his formal residence. [1]
1121
January 24
Henry I married Adeliza of Louvain at Windsor Castle. Adeliza was his second wife. They did not have any children. [2]
1170
Easter
King Henry II returned from Normandy and spent Easter at Windsor Castle where he was joined by William, King of Scotland and his brother David. The English king knighted David at this event.
1173
(to 1179)
King Henry II carried out major rebuilding work at Windsor Castle, including raising the height of the keep and improved the walls around the bailey. He added towers to the walls and built himself a house, the basement of which survives.
1175
October 6
The Treaty of Windsor was signed by King Henry II and Rory O'Connor allowing O'Connor control of the areas of Ireland other than Leinster, Meath, Waterford and Dublin which were controlled by the English King. O'Connor agreed to pay Henry an annual sum of money and to provide one hide from each ten animals slaughtered every year. [3]
1185
April
John is knighted by his father at Windsor Castle before travelling to Ireland.
1210
June 10
John landed at Waterford looking for the rebel baron William de Braose who had fled to Ireland. John took the opportunity to visit his lands in Ireland receiving homage from the Irish Chieftains. de Braose fled but his wife and son were captured, taken back to England and starved to death in Windsor Castle.
1216
June (to October)
Prince Louis advanced on Winchester and captured the city and its castle. Elsewhere, Windsor Castle and Dover Castle were besieged by the rebel barons. Both castles were defended and held out against the sieges. King John used Corfe Castle in the south-west as his base of operations while he planned his campaign against the rebel barons and Prince Louis.
1255
October
After the marriage at a Cistercian convent in Castile, Edward and Eleanor returned via Dover to England. Eleanor lived initially at Windsor Castle.
1284
August
At the time of his death, Alfonso was heir to the English throne as he was the eldest surviving son of King Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, but at the age of just ten at Windsor Castle he died. This left his four month-old younger brother, Edward, as heir.
1311
Christmas
Gaveston appeared openly at Windsor where the King celebrated Christmas. [4]
1312
November
Edward the future king of England was born at Windsor Castle and was known as Edward Windsor.
1340
The Round Tower was rebuilt at Windsor Castle.
1344
January 19
A jousting tournament at Windsor Castle may have been the time of the creation of the Order of the Garter based on King Arthur's knights of the Round Table. A huge circular hall was built within the grounds of the castle just for the event. The hall is supposed to have been 200 feet in diameter. The formal creation of the Order occurred later in 1348. [2]
1348
April 23
On St. George's Day at Windsor Castle, the Order of the Garter was created. The initial Knights of the Order were: The King (Edward III); the Prince of Wales (The Black Prince); Henry, Earl (afterwards Duke) of Lancaster; Thomas Beauchamp, 3rd Earl of Warwick; the Captal of Buch; Ralph, Lord Stafford; Motacute, Earl of Salisbury; Sir Roger Mortimer; Sir John (afterward Lord) Lisle; Sir Bartholomew (afterwards Lord) Burghershe; Sir John Beauchamp; Lord Mohun; Sir Hugh Courtenay; Sir Thomas Holland; Lord Grey; Sir Richard FitzSimon; Sir Myles Stapleton; Sir Thomas Wales; Sir Hugh Wrottesley; Sir Neel Loryng; Sir John Chandos; Sir James Audley; Sir Otho Holland; Sir Henry Eam; Sir Sanchete d'Ambrichecourt; and Sir Walter Paveley. [2]
1358
To celebrate St. George's day King Edward III held a large tournament at Windsor Castle. Edward, the Black Prince, oversaw the proceedings in which kings and nobles from all over Europe were given safe passage to take part in.
1362
July
King King Edward III transferred control of Gascony to his eldest son, the Black Prince. Edward the Black Prince had just married Joan of Kent at Windsor and together they created a magnificent court in Bordeaux.
1400
January
Supporters of Richard II planned to attack King Henry IV during a tournament held over Christmas at Windsor Castle. The plot was betrayed by Edward, Earl of Rutland, son of the Duke of York. Henry and his family escaped to London, and by the time the King returned to Windsor with an army, the rebels had been dealt with by local people. [5]
1438
Quarter 1
Somehow Owen escaped from the Newgate prison along with his priest and servant but was soon recaptured and sent to Windsor Castle.
1439
Owen Tudor was pardoned for all crimes he had been accused of and released from Windsor Castle. He was taken in by the King and given a regular income. Owen and his sons proved to be faithful Lancastrian supporters.
1475
Edward IV ordered the construction of the new St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Its size dwarfed the previous chapel builrt by his predecessors. Inside were hung the banners and insignia of the Knights of the Garter. Edward himself would be buried inside the chapel.
1477
The construction of the massive church of St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle was begun by Edward IV. The church was not completed until 1528 in the reign of King Henry VIII some fifty years later.
1522
June 19
Emporer Charles V visited England and during his stay took part in a ceremony at Windsor Castle to become a member of the Order of the Garter.
1537
October 24
Jane Seymour died after complications with the birth of Edward VI. She was buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
1642
November 4
In early November Charles took Reading while Prince Rupert was attacking Windsor Castle. Prince Rupert's efforts failed so he turned his attention south to Brentford dealing the Parliamentary forces a heavy blow. Charles' next objective was to take London but the Londoners put an army together. When the Londoners' army was reinforced with the army of the Earl of Essex there was a standoff. The Royalist and Parliamentary armies faced each other at Turnham Green but Charles was outnumbered and chose to withdraw.
TimeRef Shield Designer
Use this medieval shield designer to create your coat of arms. Click the image below to start your design.
3D Virtual Reconstructions
Transport yourself back up to a thousand years and explore historical buildings as they may have appeared in the past. Built using the popular game development tool Unity 3D, these reconstructions will run in the most of the popular web browsers on your desktop or laptop computer.
Learn More
Medieval people
Uncover the lives of the hundreds of kings, queens, lords, ladies, barons, earls, archbishops and rebels who made the medieval people an exciting period of history to live through.
Page Navigation
Selection of references used:
Explore all four floors of the White Tower at the Tower of London using the Unity 3d game engine.
Instructions
A Medieval Mystery
There appear to be some strange connections between the fourteenth century Old Wardour Castle and ancient stone circle Stonehenge.
1: Location
Old Wardour Castle appears to be aligned to ancient sites in the Stonehenge landscape.
2: Alignment
Stonehenge is aligned to the Summer Solstice. Old Wardour has a very similar alignment.
3: Size
Could the builders of Old Wardour used mesaurements from Stonehenge to layout the geometrical keep?
Mystery Details
Transport yourself back up to a thousand years and explore historical buildings as they may have appeared in the past.
Motte & Bailey
Stone Keep
Siege Engines
Tower House
Middleham Castle
Medieval Heraldry
Learn about medieval shield design.
Details
Design your own medieval Coat of Arms.
Design your shield
Adventure Game - Early Access
Early Access to the TimeRef card-based Adventure Game.